Letters to Governors Urging Moratoriums on Utility Shut-Offs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Fighting for Moratoriums on Shut-Offs, Foreclosures, & Evictions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Black people are dying from COVID-19 at a disproportionately high rate. While underlying and pre-existing conditions are part of the cause, ongoing statewide practices like foreclosures, evictions, and utility shut-offs that place people at much higher risk of contracting COVID-19 are also to blame. The effects of these practices are often concentrated in Black communities and disproportionately affect Black Americans.

While actively monitoring all states, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund is focusing on four localities with especially egregious housing and utility practices: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina.

For social media resources that you can use to urge for change in these states, click here.

Water Shut-Offs

For decades, LDF has been committed to ensuring all communities have access to safe and affordable water. The COVID-19 outbreak is an unprecedented public health crisis, and water—while always crucial for Black communities—is especially necessary to prevent the virus from spreading further.

Throughout the crisis, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is sending letters to the governors of multiple states requesting water service restoration to previously disconnected customers and statewide moratoriums on water shutoffs. The letters urge each state’s governor to act immediately to protect vulnerable water customers facing extreme distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letters also assert LDF’s concern for the health and safety of Black people who reside in these states. National and state data have shown that Black people are dying of COVID-19 at a disproportionate rate, and a 2019 report from LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute concluded that water shutoffs disproportionately impact Black populations. A statewide proclamation halting water shutoffs and restoring water service will ensure that all state residents have access to the basic hygiene necessary during this period.

Read letters LDF has delivered to state governors thus far below and follow LDF on social media for updates.